Up on the death of a loved one, it is often desired to memorialize the deceased's life in some personal manner. When making funeral arrangements, families typically have many options for services and memorials. In making such arrangements, it is generally desired to create a farewell event that is meaningful for those who will participate and to establish a permanent memorial.
Cremation has become a growing segment of the funeral industry. Upon cremation, a deceased's remains are typically contained, at least temporarily, in some form of cremation container. Some desire to have the deceased's ashes scattered from a scattering container, while others choose to store the ashes in a suitable permanent container, such as an urn that may be displayed in the home or in another personal setting. Even where the deceased ashes are scattered, it is often desired to retain and display the scattering container, for example, on a fireplace mantel, coffee table, end table or the like, as a means for memorializing a loved one.
Accordingly, there is a demand for more and higher quality styles and designs of cremation containers. One popular design theme for cremation urns is the outdoor or animal theme, considering that one of the most common places for scattering ashes is the backyard or garden. In this regard, there have been proposed various attractive means for displaying cremation containers.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,373 to Raymond discloses a cremation container in the form of a flower vase. The container has a first compartment for storing the ashes of a deceased and a separate second compartment for holding and displaying flowers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,995 to Parker et al. and U.S. Pat. No. D444,933 to Parker show various cremation containers in the forms of lawn and garden ornaments. Specifically, these patents show decorative structures such as sun dials, planters, wind chimes and bird baths that all have an inner compartment for maintaining and securing the ashes of a deceased in a permanent manner.
However, it has been heretofore unknown to provide a cremation container in the form of a birdhouse or birdfeeder and, more particularly, to provide a cremation container that can be easily and simply converted into a birdhouse or birdfeeder.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide such an alternative means of memorializing a loved one who has been cremated, as an alternative to the conventional types of cremation containers presently available.